We attended an awesome clinic this morning on preparing for cold water paddling with Kokatat at NY Kayak Company. Not only did we get some great tips on what to wear but we got to try on the dry suits and go swimming! Conclusion: After 10 minutes in the water we were still completely dry.

Key take-aways:

-If the water is less than 60 degrees you need to be thinking about how to dress for winter paddling.

-Wear base layers underneath dry suit for best combo. Choose base layers that are wool/polyster materials instead of nylon and cotton. Cotton is a well-known outdoor no-no and nylon actually absorbs water into it's cell structure so it's not ideal for paddling.

-When choosing a dry suit you have to think about what you're going to use it for (long paddles in the arctic?) and how many features you'll need (extra pockets? reinforced knees?)

-After time, your dry suit will lose some waterproofness. After cleaning the suit (dirt can effect the functions of the fabric) you can fix that manually with an iron and wax or through various chemical revivers that you spray on.

Our favorite question: Can I use these suits for Ebola?

Answer: There are more technical ones for Ebola.